The Pioneer of Audio Description
Descriptive Video Service® (DVS) is the original brand name for what is now more broadly known as audio description. The term and the service itself were pioneered in the United States by the Media Access Group at the WGBH Educational Foundation, a public broadcaster in Boston, Massachusetts. Their groundbreaking work in the 1980s established the standards, techniques, and technology that would become the foundation for video accessibility for blind and visually impaired audiences worldwide.
A Brand Name Becomes a Standard
Much like how ‘Kleenex’ became a generic trademark for facial tissues or ‘Xerox’ for photocopying, the name ‘Descriptive Video Service’ became widely synonymous with the practice of audio description itself, especially in North America. WGBH’s DVS was the first service to be widely implemented on broadcast television (first on PBS’s American Playhouse in 1990) and later in movie theaters and on home video. The quality and methodology they established became the industry benchmark.
DVS vs. Audio Description (AD)
Functionally, there is no difference between what Descriptive Video Service provides and what is referred to by the generic term Audio Description (AD). Both refer to the same service:
- An optional, narrated audio track.
- A description of key visual elements (actions, settings, expressions).
- Narration timed to fit within pauses in dialogue.
- Intended for audiences who are blind or have low vision.
The primary distinction is one of branding and origin. ‘Descriptive Video Service’ and its acronym ‘DVS’ are registered trademarks of the WGBH Educational Foundation. When you see the DVS logo in a film’s credits or on its packaging, it signifies that the description track was created by or under the quality standards of WGBH. ‘Audio Description’ (AD) is the internationally recognized, generic term for the service, regardless of who produces it.
Because of its pioneering role, DVS set the standard for the entire field, and its influence can be seen in the training and quality guidelines used by audio describers all over the world today.